Wayside School is Falling Down (book chapter)
"Wayside School is Falling Down" is the thirtieth and final chapter of Wayside School is Falling Down. Synopsis On a windy day, the students anticipate that Wayside School will be struck by a disaster. Plot This chapter opens on a very windy day, as a strong wind pushes the students as they walk to Wayside School. The building sways from the wind as they walk upstairs, exciting Kathy, who is excited that Wayside School is finally falling down. Joe questions why she's exciting, knowing they'll all die, but Kathy is glad because she won't have to do her homework anymore. As they enter Mrs. Jewls's class, Mrs. Jewls has everyone find their seats, though it's difficult, as the gusts of wind cause the desks to slide across the classroom. Mrs. Jewls notes they'll have a fire drill. She asks who the door and help monitors are, being Maurecia and Jason respectively. Stephen worries if there will be an actual fire, and the firemen won't save them because they'll think it's just a drill. The fire alarm goes off, and Maurecia opens the door to let the rest of her class out. Jason goes to the window to scream for help. Mrs. Jewls rings her cowbell, because in the case of a fire, they wouldn't be able to see her through the smoke. Mrs. Jewls leads them up a ladder through a trapdoor to the roof, knowing that in the case of a real fire, helicopters would fly up to rescue the students. Mrs. Jewls holds the class away from the edge as the wind blows at them, while Kathy continues to sing Wayside School is Falling Down. Stephen corrects her, stating the school is burning down and no one will rescue them because they think it's a drill. Suddenly, Jenny sees a dark cloud in the distance, and worries the school is about to be sucked into a tornado. Mrs. Jewls rings her cowbell, with the strong wind carrying the sound for miles. Todd sees thunder and lightning, worrying the school will be struck by lightning, while Benjamin Nushmutt hears screams and rumbling, worrying that an earthquake is about to hit. Everyone argues which disaster will strike the school, when Myron hears a scream from below. Myron and Mrs. Jewls listen intently to the scream, but they have difficulty deciphering it. Initially they believe it's "Star Bringing Purple," but they have no clue what that means. Upon listening more, they hear "Star Bringing Yorbel," "Stop Bringing Yorbel," and finally "Stop Ringing Your Bell." Mrs. Jewls stops ringing her cowbell, and everyone cheers. However, when Rondi opens the trapdoor, it's too late. The entire school is flooded with cows. Cows from all over the countryside heard Mrs. Jewls's cowbell, and heeded the call to come to Wayside School. The cows fill every room, and since they can not walk downstairs, they are difficult to get out. Some suggest starving the cows, but the farmers don't allow that, so several bales of hay are sent in, and many cows have calves. The children are sent home on helicopters, and the school is closed as several joke about cows going to the school to learn. Only Louis is left over, to clean up the cows. He asks the cows to go home, but they don't budge. Everybody moos. Characters *Kathy *Joe *Mrs. Jewls *Maurecia *Jason *Stephen *Jenny *Todd *Benjamin Nushmutt *Myron *Rondi *Cows (debut) *Louis Trivia *This is the first appearance of cows in the Wayside School series. *This chapter shares a title with the book Wayside School is Falling Down and the song "Wayside School is Falling Down." Gallery Wayside School is Falling Down Chapter Illustration 1989.jpg|Joel Schick illustration Wayside School is Falling Down Chapter Illustration 2003.jpg|Adam McCauley illustration Foreign editions Wayside School is Falling Down Chapter Illustration.jpg|Peter Allen illustration (UK) Louis Cows Wayside School is Falling Down.jpg|Peter Allen second illustration (UK) Wayside School is Falling Down Chapter Kitamura.png|Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan) Category:Wayside School is Falling Down chapters Category:Book chapters